- UK Biodiversity Action Plan
- Strategy Timeline
- Biodiversity | Ards and North Down Borough Council
- Pioneering biodiversity management standard is published
I stated earlier that Northern Ireland can become a strategic food zone. I also believe that Northern Ireland can become a strategic energy zone. The success of our prosperity agreement programme demonstrates how we can work in partnership with business to deliver significant environmental benefits.
It sets targets for reducing energy and water consumption; for the reduction of CO2 emissions; and for increasing the amount of recycled plastic in its products. The point of citing all these examples is this: even with all the challenges that we have faced in our society and in our history, we know that great things are possible when we work together. We need to be seen to play a lead role. We know that we need to put our environmental house in order and show that we in Northern Ireland have the innovation, skills and determination necessary to influence meaningful outcomes that can benefit us locally as well as people across the world.
That brings me to green growth. This is a globally recognised concept, with organisations such as the OECD developing a set of strategic principles in their economic policies. It is not a new concept. It was the precursor to the green new deal that was developed a decade ago in response to the global financial crisis. Although considerable progress was made back then, the concept was, arguably, ahead of its time.
UK Biodiversity Action Plan
I believe that its time has come. For evidence of that, we need look no further than our neighbours in the EU, who have adopted green growth as the basis of their European green deal. It aims to transform the European Union from a high- to low-carbon economy while improving people's quality of life through cleaner air, water and improved health. By working together across the British Isles and internationally, we can co-design a green growth strategy and delivery framework that will deliver for Northern Ireland. Green growth is about working together to value our environmental assets, growing those assets and, in so doing, growing our economy.
There are three key elements to making that work. The first element of green growth is a co-designed, environment strategy from the Executive, entitled the "Green Growth Strategy". It will be designed in collaboration with a broad and inclusive range of people from across the business community, environment sectors and the community and voluntary sectors. Although I have characterised those as separate sectors, in reality, the boundaries are not so clear.
I know many people in the business community who are determined to make a difference to climate change and the environment. People in the environment sector understand the importance of working with the business community to secure positive outcomes, and organisations in the community and voluntary sector know that an excellent way to empower people and communities is to connect them with their environment. It is my intention that the strategy will be discussed at the Executive, with co-design and consultation during the autumn and a strategy finalised by next spring.
That brings me to the second element of green growth, namely the delivery framework. It will be a series of interconnected programmes that demonstrate green growth in action. The first of those will be key foundation programmes, exemplars of what I like to call "strategy by doing"; in other words, they are major objectives that will contribute to the aims of the strategy but in a way that demonstrates real impact on the ground.
For example, in March, I announced the first of those in the Forests for our Future programme, which aims to plant 18 million trees over the next decade. That is the type of foundation programme that will be at the heart of what we are trying to do in green growth. Another element to be delivered over the next 10 years and beyond is keeping plastics in the economy and out of the environment.
Through that programme, all plastic that comes into Northern Ireland will remain in the economy and out of the environment. It will be much broader than but will include reform of the packaging producer responsibility system in line with other parts of the UK and participation in a UK-wide deposit return scheme. We will engage in both of those. That will aim to deliver measurable and population-wide improvements in well-being.
It will focus on the educational, social and economic benefits associated with the connection between people and their environment, which is something that we have truly appreciated the importance of in recent months. Another element is sustainable growth through technology. That will involve the full roll-out of broadband across Northern Ireland.
That, in turn, will support a network of new businesses and services by connecting people and communities in Northern Ireland and across the world. Another element is smart cities and rural communities. We will design the programme with communities and for communities to develop natural green connectors and corridors across cities, towns and landscapes, connecting people and their environment. That will also involve the use of connected technologies, such as office networking tools and the Internet of things, to promote efficient energy use. A further element is blue carbon habitats. That will involve the development of blue carbon habitats, increasing biodiversity and carbon capture.
Finally, we recognise the valuable contribution that agriculture already makes to our environment. However, we can continue to improve sustainable land use, healthy rivers and growing biodiversity. That will involve the comprehensive mapping of soil quality and water catchments across Northern Ireland in support of low-carbon farming; a significant increase in our green infrastructure, for example, hedges and peatlands, to sequester carbon, improve biodiversity and act as natural barriers against pollution and flooding; new food and agriculture policies to encourage and reward businesses for sustainability and environmental outcomes; a scenario-planning model to map, predict and, ultimately, monitor the benefits of different green growth interventions; and the movement of all sensitive sites towards favourable management, including land and marine.
I would also envisage programmes in the first phase for an increase in renewable energy to a point where we become a net exporter and sustainable transport using renewable energy to achieve net zero emissions. I will discuss the proposals with my ministerial colleagues, so that we can bring them back to the Executive.
Strategy Timeline
We are also, of course, working with the Department for Infrastructure on adaption programmes to deal with the impact of climate change. As well as planning a significant increase in sustainable transport, we will develop the strategy and delivery framework through a process of co-design and co-delivery. Green growth will happen only if people have ownership and if all the key players work together towards a shared goal.
The framework will operate under the oversight of the Executive through an interministerial group that I will chair. Given the importance of green growth, I have asked the DAERA permanent secretary to lead the development work together with officials from across the Northern Ireland Civil Service and a broad group of stakeholders.
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The third element of green growth is the development of proposals to address New Decade, New Approach. The recommendations include commitments on climate change, including legislation and reductions in plastics waste. At the beginning of the statement, I promised to set out the opportunities for Northern Ireland that are possible if we work together to improve our environment and create jobs and economic growth the green growth way.
I hope that the statement gives you a flavour of the opportunities, recognising that co-design means not having all the answers in advance. We can make a difference, and we can achieve economic, environmental and social benefits if we use the right approach; indeed, I would argue that we must, if we are to achieve the benefits together. We need a vibrant economy to provide people with meaningful work; we need to give people an opportunity to work their way out of poverty; and we need to help those who cannot help themselves.
Importantly, however, we need to do all that in a way that cares for and enhances our environment, as, ultimately, we are part of that environment. I hope that colleagues will recognise the emphasis on partnership in the statement and the proposals that it contains. They are ambitious, I grant you, but I make no apology for that, because it is what we must do and what people expect us to do.
My Department will work with people from across the political spectrum to make it happen. It is my hope that Members will reciprocate in a spirit of partnership.
While green growth will be a major challenge for all of us, I believe that, with a vision of sustainability, goodwill and an evidence-based approach, we can make a huge difference to our place and to the people of Northern Ireland at the heart of the next economic revolution. We now come to questions to the Minister on his statement.
Biodiversity | Ards and North Down Borough Council
As usual, some latitude is given to the Chair and Deputy Chair of the relevant Committee. I thank the Minister for his statement. Green growth is a highly aspirational strategy. The statement is welcome, as it contains many worthwhile aims and objectives. However, on the basis of its content, what has been announced seems to be the start of a process. Many of the programmes, ideas and concepts referenced in the statement are not new; they have been around for a while. What is new, I suppose, is bringing them together and appointing a permanent secretary to lead on them.
What is missing is detail such as budget, timeline, proper aims and objectives and delivery plans. What resources has the Minister allocated to the delivery of green growth? Today's statement is about delivering the concept. Over the next year, as we work with other Departments, with the Committee and, indeed, the entire House, that concept will become the strategy, and the strategy will be bid for on the basis of what, we recognise, is needed to move it forward.
It is important for all of us that we understand that, environmentally, this is an opportunity for our economy, not a threat to it. It is an opportunity to build. That is what we want to do: we want to build our economy in a sustainable way; we want to ensure that growth happens in a sustainable way; and we want to ensure that, as we do things that help and protect the environment, we grow our economy alongside that.
We will produce budgets.
Pioneering biodiversity management standard is published
However, now is just not the time. That work will happen in due course, when the strategy is more formalised. I thank the Minister for his positive statement. I welcome the road map for the future, particularly on the need for more work to be done around the circular economy, in particular the better use of our waste material. Keeping waste in our economy is a must. How do you foresee Northern Ireland delivering on that approach? I set that policy way back in and was told that we had no chance: we did it.
Now we are looking at and what we can achieve. That is a decision that I have to make, but it certainly would be a noble aspiration. In your constituency , for example, Cherry Pipes recycles a lot of plastics. In Fermanagh and South Tyrone we have a company recycling a lot of bottles. We have others recycling considerable amounts of paper that are then reused.
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All that is absolutely critical. Last week, I met three companies that employ people in recycling.
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